Following the destruction of key infrastructure in Moises Padilla by typhoon Tino Nov. 4, which isolated several outside barangays from the main town, one resident took immediate action by building a floating bridge to reconnect barangays Guinpana-an and Quintin Remo.
Igmi Nicor, of Barangay Guinpana-an, undertook the project after the storm severed the hanging footbridge, cutting off two communities with a combined population of over 11,000 residents, 7,601 of these from Quintin Remo.
“I decided to build the floating bridge to help the communities connect once again,” Nicor was quoted as saying in a press release from the municipal government Nov. 18.
To fund the construction, Nicor borrowed P50,000 and hired workers to complete the makeshift crossing.
A modest fee is being collected from users to help him pay the loan and cover maintenance costs, with pedestrians paying P5 per person, and P10 per motorcycle, the press release said.
The temporary floating bridge can only accommodate the lightest traffic, like pedestrians and motorcycles. All other vehicles are prohibited from using it.
Nicor’s initiative provides a critical temporary lifeline for thousands of residents until the government can begin the necessary large-scale repairs on the permanent infrastructure, the press release added.
The municipal government said it has already made a “desperate, three-pronged appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for assistance to fund critical infrastructure and housing relief following the devastating impact of Tino.
Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo had penned multiple letters, delivered through Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco, that outlined the community’s urgent needs, which impact the safety and livelihood of over 17,591 residents.
The most urgent request concerns the rebuilding of several hanging bridges and spillways destroyed by the typhoon, with the community in a “desperate situation” due to the hazardous lack of safe passage across the Binalbagan River, which the LGU said, “traumatizes the residents.”
The damaged structures that require urgent assistance include a hanging bridge and spillway connecting barangays 1 and Inolingan, which also serves other nearby barangays such as Quintin Remo; hanging bridge in Sitio Lemoncito, Inolingan, the hanging bridge connecting Guinpana-an and Quintin Remo;
A hanging bridge and spillway in Sitio Kabayabasan, Montilla, and a hanging bridge and spillway connecting Montilla and Macagahay.
The absence of these links disrupts children’s education, hinders economic activity, and delays access to emergency healthcare, the LGU stressed.
Garcia-Yulo emphasized that constructing permanent, concrete bridges would provide a safe crossing point, enhance connectivity, and improve the transport of farm produce to markets.
The local government is also struggling to provide shelter for families, whose homes were destroyed by Tino.
The mayor already sought the realignment of an unexpended balance of P2.9 million from the FY 2021 Contingent Fund, originally intended for housing materials following Typhoon Odette, but is now urgently needed as housing assistance for victims of Tino. ||
